MONTREAL--This summer's EcoHealth 2014 conference in Montreal--the 5th biennial conference of the International Association for Ecology & Health--will feature global public health officials and practitioners along with leading researchers in ecology, human and veterinarian medicine, urban and rural planning, social sciences, and international development, among others.

From August 11-15 more than 500 presentations will feature the work of a unique group of professionals from more than 60 countries who address issues affecting health, ecosystems and society as part of the rapidly growing field of cross-disciplinary research and practice known as "ecohealth".

The conference will cover a wide-range of interrelated health and environment issues, from the impacts of global change, including climate change, on human and animal health, and the transmission of infectious zoonotic diseases such as MERS and avian influenza.

Speakers at this year's conference include:

Minnie Grey, Executive Director of the Nunavik Regional Board of Health and Social Services, is an advocate for the health and quality of life for Inuit in Nunavik, across Canada and internationally.

Jean-Remy Guimarães studies the mercury cycle in aquatic environments and other environmental health issues at the Carlos Chagas Filho Institute of Biophysics of the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Jimmy Smith, Director General of the International Livestock Research Institute in Kenya, works to improve human and environmental health through sustainable livestock practices and reducing risk from livestock-related diseases.

Ana Riviere-Cinnamond, regional ecohealth advisor in Peru for the Pan-American Health Organization, brings a public health perspective to the economic analysis of animal health.

Six plenary panels will feature top public health and environment experts from the World Health Organization, the Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute, the United Nations' Convention on Biological Diversity, Veterinarians Without Borders, the Center for Health Policy and Social Change in Indonesia, and many others.
The preliminary programme is now available on the conference website.

EcoHealth 2014

Co-hosted by the Center for Interdisciplinary Research on Well-Being, Health, Society and Environment (Cinbiose) and the Canadian Community of Practice in Ecosystem Approaches to Health (CoPEH-Canada), EcoHealth 2014 will take place from August 11-15 at the Université du Québec à Montréal.

Journalists and professional science communicators are invited to attend the conference and can apply for complimentary media accreditation. A detailed scheduled of media opportunities during the conference will be available soon.

The IAEH's mission is to strive for sustainable health of people, wildlife and ecosystems by promoting discovery, understanding and transdisciplinarity. It does this by serving a diverse international community including scientists, educators, policy makers, practitioners and the general public through its journal EcoHealth and its biennial conference. More at: http://www.ecohealth.net

Disclaimer: AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert system.